Sunday, February 10, 2013

I've always been monogamous when it comes to hobbies. One at a time for me - that's how my brain works. It has worked that way for almost 60 years. I fall in love with something, and that's it - I don't want to do anything else. There is only one problem with this - my other tendency.No matter what hobby I'm doing I always go overboard. Somewhere in the distant past I must have been fearful of running out of something in the middle of a project. Totally silly - but that's me. Those of you who have been reading my blog for some time know I have a SABLE fabric stash. Well, that's not my only SABLE stash. I have one for each hobby I've enjoyed.When I did embroidery and then cross stitch, I saved my money and bought at least one hank of every DMC embroidery thread color made at the time. I also have a spool of every existing DMC machine embroidery thread color for hand and machine applique. I have a large box full of Aida cloth just waiting for cross stitching, as well as a two foot stack of cross stitch books and patterns. I have several tubs of fabric in the attic from when I sewed all of our clothes.Well, here's what I've accumulated since 2010, while I've been spinning and knitting:

My SABLE fiber stash, including dyed top and roving as well as 30 or so sheep and alpaca fleeces.

Sock yarn

More yarn where my plaid collection used to be.

Bins, drawers and baskets full of yarn.

Looking into the "Black Hole of Calcutta" that is my closet under the stairs. Yarn in drawers and four huge bins (which you can't really see) of fabric - all my felted wool, my 30's fabric and all my plaids. This isn't good - I need to get my plaids back on the shelves as I want to use them now.

More yarn, including a bin of my handspun. I've spun a lot of yarn, but have knit very little of it.

My organized scrap collection - you may remember all those drawers and boxes of strips, squares, logs, and strings - is gone. I gave it to a charity group. I decided I'd never use all my fabric if I stayed focused on scraps. Something had to go to make room for the new! You can see the bathroom upstairs is almost completely given over to fleece and fiber storage.Yes, I know - I must live several lifetimes to use all of this. Which is why I can no longer focus on one hobby at a time. I must keep spinning and knitting as well as quilting. This is a small house and we are almost overrun by my accumulating. So now I publicly state the following:

I pledge to buy no more fabric or fiber items of any kind, other than what might be necessary to finish a current project.

No more fabric!

No more yarn!

No more fiber!

No more fleeces!

No more pattern books unless I'm going to make something from them immediately!

No more fiber magazines!

I must do this. And I must try to split my time between all three hobbies. I must change my almost 60 year old patterns of behavior.

I can do this - I will do this - I must do this!

Now back to working on my quilts in progress, my current spinning projects (one on each wheel!) and my 14 unfinished knitting projects. Stay tuned . . . .

6 comments:

I totally know where you are coming from. I've been a quilter since about 1977, and I have tons of fabrics in my basement that need to be used up. I'm thinking lots of scrap quilts are in my future, many charity quilts as well. Hang in there! I know we can do this!

Good Luck! I tend to do the same thing--when I was able to knit (not since arthritis took over!!) I had scads of yarn and kept on buying. Also, scrapbooking...I have boxes of paper and trims--and of, course, fabric--my recent love...I am trying to "Use up" what I have...it is very hard when you see all those gorgeous fabrics and patterns everywhere!! Julierose

So glad you are blogging again! I too was overrun with things from my hobbies-fabric mostly. Last fall I did a major clean out. If I didn't love it, out it went. I donated 15 full garbage bags to charities along with a sewing machine. I felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. I have made 200 quilts for our local VA Hospital in Buffalo and now I'm doing things for myself for a while. I'm back to cross stitching and I love it. Good luck with your "no-buy". You can do it!Wendy in WNY

I feel like I am reading my own story. My hobby stashes include sewing, knitting, cross stitch, rug hooking, spinning, weaving, and now quilting.. I have so much fiber, yarn, thread, fabric both wool and cotton along with equipment that I sometime feel smothered by all of it. Glad to know I am not the only one.